The Government has raised from 32.60 to 33.62 euros the additional contribution that companies must pay at the end of temporary contracts of less than 30 days, according to the order published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). This measure, which takes effect from January 1, responds to the 3.1% increase in the minimum contribution bases, in line with the increase in the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI)and is part of the labor reform to reduce temporary employment.
The amount of this overcharge is calculated based on the minimum daily base of group 8, corresponding to first and second officers. Like the rest of the minimum bases, this increases by 3.1%, which explains the increase in the penalty.
This measure, according to Europa Press, is established in the 2021 labor reform as a tool to discourage very short-term contracts, especially those of a few days or weeks.
However, the regulations do not apply to certain cases. Contracts for the agricultural system, domestic employees and coal mining are excluded. It also does not apply to replacement contracts or training contracts, including alternating training contracts, nor to labor relations in the artistic field and related auxiliary activities.
One in three contracts lasts less than a month
Data from the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) show that short-term hiring maintains a relevant weight. In February, 1,118,996 contracts were made, of which 349,266 (31.2%) had a duration of one month or less.
Within this group, 232,540 contracts had a duration of one week or less, representing 20.7% of the total. In addition, 54,703 contracts lasted between 8 and 15 days, while 62,023 were between 16 days and one month.
Of the total contracts, 494,001 were permanent, 1.9% more than in the same month of the previous year, and represented 44.1% of the total, above the figure for January (41.6%).
By type, 229,651 full-time permanent contracts were registered, 0.2% less; 133,764 fixed-discontinuous, which increased by 2.6%; and 130,586 part-time, with an increase of 7.8%.
For their part, temporary contracts reached 624,995, 1.3% more, which represents 55.8% of the total.
In the accumulated of the first two months of the year, 2.28 million contracts were made, 1.3% less than in the same period of the previous year. Of them, 978,296 were permanent and 1.3 million were temporary, both with reductions.